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Should I get a playmate???

Dear All

I would really appreciate any advice that anyone can give as I seem to be getting conflicting ideas from vets.

I have a beautiful blue male budgie (Buddy) who is nearly 2 years old.
In the last year he has suffered 3 crop infections . I have taken him to the vet each time and obtained the appropriate medication and he has always recovered well.
However, I am concerned about the reasons for what appears to be a recurring problem.
I have a female cockatiel (Bobby) who is nearly 6 but the 2 do not really get along. Well, Buddy loves Bobby but Bobby does not feel the same!! However, they are able to come out of their cages together (both are tame) with no problems.
I have read about recurring crop infections in Budgie's and the one thing that keeps coming up is that Budgie's should not be lone and at least 2 should be kept together. I have therefore decided that I would like to get Buddy a little companion.
I have also been advised to take all mirrors out of his cage - is this the right thing to do?
If a companion is the right option, can anyone advise on how long I should keep them seperate before placing them in the same cage or should they go straight in together?
Also, would it be best to buy another male as I do not really want to have little baby budgies being born!
I have already bought a bigger cage so that they will have plenty of room but I wanted to make sure I am doing the right thing.
My birds are incredibly important to me so I do not want to do anything that could be detrimental to them.

Re: Should I get a playmate???

Hi, Haley. It is not uncommon for your budgie and tiel not to get along very well. You would think that both being parrots, although a different species, they would like each other. But many folks would identify with the problem you have with them. It is good they can be out of cage for exercise and not get into any scrabbles while doing so. And also, it is always a good idea to keep budgies and tiels in different cages. As to keeping the mirrors out of Buddy's cage, I really don't know why you were advised to do so. He is in the cage by himself and there is no female budgie with him. Tiels react much differently to mirrors, and especially when they are hormonal, they will "bond" with the mirrors, and that can cause female tiels to lay eggs, and males to display hormonal behavior. But personally, I have never had a concern for hanging mirrors in my budgies' cages. They LOVE mirrors, both male and female. Even with several budgies in one cage, I've always used mirrors.

Has the vet found the cause for the crop infections that little Buddy gets quite often? I do not know whether crop infections are "contagious" to other birds. If they are, then I would hesitate to put another budgie in the cage because you wouldn't want both of them to have the disease. You should be able to get that answer from your Vet. And also, there will be folks who will read your post and hopefully will respond to your questions you have presented.

As to deciding whether you want to get a male or female, since you definitely don't want to get into breeding, I would say you are wise to choose another male. I've had both male and female budgies for many years, and males get along very well together in a cage. Very rarely you will have two that fight with each other. The only concern I would have is if you purchase a younger, or baby budgie and put it in a cage with your other one (Buddy is 2 years old), on occasion, the older one will push the new bird out of the food cup and/or water cup, and even get a little aggressive with the new one, chasing it around the cage, or picking at it and knocking it off the perch onto the cage floor. Were you planning on getting a young one, or would you consider getting one a little older. It is a hard decision to make, and the behavior I just described could also happen with a older budgie, although I personally don't think the risk is as high with one a little older.

Most bird experts would say that it is very important to put the new bird in a separate cage and keep it away from the one you have for 30 days, in a separate room in your home, so that if the new one does have some sort of disease it will not be passed to Buddy.

I hope my opinions and info are of help to you Hayley. And we love pics here, so sometime at your convenience post some pics of Buddy and Bobby. (love those names)!!

Re: Should I get a playmate???

Thank you very much for your reply.I have had budgies before and always used mirrors too and not had a problem.I may try to get a budgie of a similar age and keep in a separate cage for a while (now need a name for that one,perhaps another name starting with B)!

The vet has discussed doing further investigations should the infections persist but the consensus seems to be that he is trying to feed himself in the mirror which is why I was told to take them out.Apparently,the constant regurgitation,then re swallowing etc is what could be causing the crop infection.

Your reply has reassured me though that I am not the only one unsure what to do and I thank you for your input.At this very moment buddy is sitting on the armchair next to me while I type!!!

Re: Should I get a playmate???

Hayley, Now I understand the consensus about the mirrors. Yes, I do agree, some budgies really get that regurgitation going, all of the time. So, in that case, I do believe it is best you leave the mirrors out of the cage. But that isn't a problem. Budgies LOVE toys, so I'm sure you can find some to hang in the cage. Also, all birds like millet. Millet sprigs can be purchased at any Pet Shop or Pet Store. You can use them as treats, hanging one in the cage, or break up a sprig and put some pieces in a separate food cup and put in the cage. And once you get the new budgie, even if you have to put the cages side by side for awhile, they won't be in need of a mirror. They will have each other to watch, even if they have to do so from different cages.

I think all of us, at one time or another have questions about our little birds that we need answered. You will find this to be a wonderful forum/community. I've been here for almost a year, and really enjoy coming here every day to read the posts and to hear all about all kinds of birds and other animals. Marrie, our Moderator, has rabbits (or a rabbit, I'm not sure if she has more than one).

Re: Should I get a playmate???

Thank you Ellen; you have been a great help. Sometimes its just nice to get some reassurance that you are doing the right thing. I have so many toys so have given Buddy lots of others to play with which he seems quite happy with. He was definitely more perky yesterday and this morning. He could hear the birds outside and was chirping away at them. I'm sure my Cockateil looks at him sometimes like he's mad!!!

I always have millet for both of my birds and he seems to be eating fine anyway actually. The new, bigger cage is on its way and I hope to get a new budgie in a couple of weeks time once Buddy has fully recovered. I am very excited x